Red deer or elk (maral), distinctly recognised by their impressive antlers, can be mostly found in the park's forested areas. The males' antlers, which they shed each spring, grow back larger each year, and a stag's age can be estimated by the number of tines or points on the animal's antlers.

Throughout the summer a new set grows back in preparation for early winter mating season--protected by a covering of velvet as they grow. In mid-summer the animal rubs off the dried velvet against young trees and scrub.

The mating period, or rutting season, starts in late-September. Older males compete for territory and access to the females living in the area, and rivals are driven off with throaty bellowing sounds (burling). It is impossible to accurately describe the range of sounds that a male red deer can make--the animal can sound like a howling wolf, screaming howler monkey or even a fog horn. To really find out how they sound, visit Hustai in late-September and listen for yourself. Occasionally direct confrontation occurs and the clashing of antlers rings through the hills of Hustai. Outside of the mating period, stags live in separate groups from does and their fawns, who are born from May to June. The fawns sport spotted coats for their first two months before developing the russet coats of adulthood.

Throughout Mongolia there is great variation in the habitats occupied by red deer. In Hustai National Park's birch forests, they feed on grass, shrubs and trees. While their main predators are wolf and lynx, attacks are usually limited to fawns. Outside the park, maral stags are hunted for their antlers which can fetch up to US$20 per kilo on the Chinese medicine market. Many countries prohibit the importation of animal products such as antlers.

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